Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27456094›Full record

Trial reportTrials2016

The Sources of Strength Australia Project: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Alison L Calear, Jacqueline L Brewer, Philip J Batterham, Andrew Mackinnon, Peter A Wyman, Mark LoMurray, Fiona Shand, Dominique Kazan, Helen Christensen

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Trials, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Multilevel risk and protective factors for self-harm, suicidal ideation and suicide attempt in adolescents.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Social network structure as a suicide prevention target.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024
    Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Alison L CalearCentre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, 63 Eggleston Road, Acton ACT 2601, Canberra, Australia. Alison.Calear@anu.edu.au.
Jacqueline L BrewerCentre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, 63 Eggleston Road, Acton ACT 2601, Canberra, Australia.
Philip J BatterhamCentre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, 63 Eggleston Road, Acton ACT 2601, Canberra, Australia.
Andrew MackinnonOrygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Peter A WymanDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
Mark LoMurraySources of Strength, Bismarck, ND, USA.
Fiona ShandBlack Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Dominique KazanCentre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, 63 Eggleston Road, Acton ACT 2601, Canberra, Australia.
Helen ChristensenBlack Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Australian National University · AUBlack Dog Institute · AUOrygen Youth Health · AUPrimary Source · USUniversity of Rochester · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe school system has been identified as an ideal setting for the implementation of prevention and early intervention programs for suicide. However, in Australia, suicide-prevention programs that are routinely delivered in the schools are lacking. Internationally, evidence exists for the effectiveness of peer-led interventions that take a social connectedness approach to improve help-seeking for suicide. The aim of the current trial is to test the effectiveness of the Sources of Strength program to promote help-seeking for suicide in adolescents in Australian high schools. METHODS/

designThis study is a two-arm, cluster-randomised, controlled trial that will compare the evidence-based Sources of Strength program to a wait-list control condition. Sixteen Australian high schools will be recruited to the trial, with all adolescents in years 7 to 10 (12-16 years of age) invited to participate. Peer leaders from intervention-condition schools will receive training in the Sources of Strength program and will integrate positive messages, across 3 months, with the support of adult advisors. Activities may take the form of class presentations, posters, videos, and messages on social media sites and will aim to change help-seeking norms, strengthen youth-adult connections, and promote positive coping. The primary outcome measure for the study is help-seeking intentions, whereas secondary outcomes include help-seeking behaviour, help-seeking attitudes and norms, referral of distressed peers, availability of adult help, positive coping, and suicidal behaviour. Data will be collected pre-intervention, post-intervention (after the initial 3 months of messaging), and at the end of the first (6-month follow-up) and the second year after implementation (18-month follow-up). Primary analyses will compare changes in help-seeking intentions for the intervention condition relative to the wait-list control condition using mixed-effect repeated-measures analyses to account for clustering within schools. DISCUSSION: If proven effective, this universal social connectedness program for suicide could be more widely delivered in Australian high schools, providing a valuable new resource. The Sources of Strength program has the potential to significantly contribute to the mental health of young people in Australia by improving help-seeking for suicide. The findings from this research will also contribute to the evidence-base for peer-leadership programs internationally.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12616000048482 . Registered on 19 January 2016.

Indexed as

Adolescent BehaviorMental HealthSchool Health ServicesSuicidal IdeationSuicide PreventionAdaptation, PsychologicalAdolescentAge FactorsAustralian Capital TerritoryChildFemaleHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansMaleNew South WalesPatient Acceptance of Health CareAdolescentHelp-SeekingMental healthPreventionSchoolSuicide

Identifiers

PMID27456094
PMCPMC4960686
OpenAlexW2506341810

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.